Articles by Girish Anand

October 1, 2011

38 view(s)

Washington Minimum Wage to Rise to $9.04 an Hour on Jan. 1

Following one day after Oregon raised its minimum wage, Washington announced it was hiking its minimum hourly rate to $9.04 to adjust for inflation as tracked by the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The rate, up from the current $8.67, is effective Jan. 1, 2012. Washington and Oregon ($8.80 in 2012) have the two highest state minimum wages in the nation. Washington update subscribers will receive th...

September 30, 2011

30 view(s)

Oregon Minimum Wage to Rise to $8.80 an Hour in 2012

Oregon will hike its minimum wage by 30 cents to $8.80 an hour come Jan. 1, 2012, adjusting the rate for 3.77-percent inflation as recorded by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the period ending Aug. 30, 2011. Oregon is one of 10 states to hitch its minimum wage to the CPI. Washington, also one of the 10, will announce its increase today. The CPI, published by the United States Bureau of Labor...

September 29, 2011

25 view(s)

Supreme Court to Review Individual Mandate of PPACA

POTUS beseeched SCOTUS on Wednesday (Sept. 28, 2011) to review the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals' August ruling that the individual mandate contained in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is unconstitutional. When a Monday deadline passed for the Obama administration to ask the 11th Circuit Court to rehear the case, it became clear that the goal was for the Supreme Court...

September 28, 2011

24 view(s)

DOL Withdraws Its Fiduciary Re-Definition but Plans to Resubmit It, Modified

The Department of Labor (DOL) has temporarily withdrawn its proposed new definition of a fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974—one that would have embraced even realtors—but still plans to modify and reissue the definition next year. Under the proposed regulations, a person rendering advice on an ERISA plan would have been treated as a fiduciary...

September 27, 2011

35 view(s)

OSHA Extends Commentary Period on Proposed Injury-Illness Reporting Rule

At the request of the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) is extending by 30 days the public commentary period on its proposed new injury and illness reporting requirement. The proposed rule would shrink the number of industries exempt from OSHA's injury and illness reporting requirements and would also amend the threshold...

September 26, 2011

26 view(s)

IRS Establishes Worker Misclassification Amnesty Program

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has commenced a program by which companies can admit to having misclassified workers as independent contractors and settle up by paying a portion of back taxes owed, thereby avoiding most penalties and fees assessed during an audit. There are strings attached, of course. The company applying for the amnesty cannot be undergoing any current IRS or Department of...

September 22, 2011

32 view(s)

OSHA Updates Its Whistleblower Investigation Instructions and Standards

whistleblowers

The Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has released a new edition of its Whistleblower Investigations Manual, one of a series of measures to improve OSHA's Whistleblower Protection Program that were announced in August. The new edition of the manual contains updates to case handling procedures, information on the new laws enacted since the manual ...

September 21, 2011

86 view(s)

Tyson to Pay $32 Million to Settle Donning-Doffing Lawsuit

donning and doffing time Perdue Farms Tyson

When Perdue Farms in 2002 settled with the Department of Labor (DOL) on back-paying its workers for the time spent donning and doffing required personal protective equipment (PPE), Tyson didn't read the tea leaves and refused to pay its workers for donning-doffing time. The piper came calling this week as Tyson was forced into a settlement similar to Perdue Farms' agreement--to the tune...

September 20, 2011

34 view(s)

NFIB Becomes Second National Group to Sue NLRB Over Poster Mandate

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) has become the second nationwide business group to file a lawsuit against the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and its recent ruling that businesses must post an employee rights notification under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). “With this latest rule, the NLRB has gone too far, passing a mandate that vastly exceeds its ...

September 19, 2011

48 view(s)

DOL Ups the Ante on Independent Contractor Misclassification Violations

The Department of Labor (DOL) is launching a program whereby states and the federal government will share information on the misclassification of employees as independent contractors, and the DOL in turn will rat to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The goal is to increase penalties for misclassifying employees and thereby restrict or eliminate the practice. The states will be able to collect...

174 of 221

Options

About author

Girish Anand

Recent Articles

Practical articles on HR, Safety, compliance, and people operations—written for real businesses, not legal textbooks.

U.S. Department of Labor Officially Restores Prior Overtime Exemption Rules

On May 14th, 2026, the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced it has officially rescinded the 2024 overtime exemption rules. Specifically, the WHD published a technical amendment to restore previous 2019 regulations that dictated overtime exemptions for...

NLRB General Counsel Takes Action to Tackle Current Case Backlog

On May 6th, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and NLRB General Counsel Crystal Stowe Carey announced the bulk transfer of thousands of labor practice cases. Specifically, this action fulfills an initiative signed by the NLRB General Counsel earlier this year. Overall, the initiative...

Privacy Agency Invites Comments from Businesses on the CCPA’s Usage of Personal Data

Recently, the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) issued a call for comments on the current state of personal data collection under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Specifically, the invitation to deliver remarks was issued on April 20th, 2026. The information provided by the...

DOL Proposes New Joint Employer Rule To Unify Standards Under Federal Labor Laws

In April 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a proposed rule to establish a single, clear standard for determining when joint-employer status applies under three major federal laws: the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and the Migrant and Seasonal...

DOL Updates Enforcement Approach for Employee Benefit Plans: What Employers Should Know

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently announced a significant change in its enforcement of employee benefit plan rules. The DOL will now focus more closely on serious violations that harm workers and retirees, meaning compliant employers may face less scrutiny under the updated approach.

View All Articles

Articles by Girish Anand